Rotary ventilator



Mmh 2o, 1928. 1,663,199l

v w. F.. H|RscHMAN i ROTARY vENTILA'roR.

Filed Jan. 5, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet` 1 Mmh 2o, 192s. 1,663,199

l w. F. HlRscHMAN ROTARY VENTILATOR Filed J 3, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Imgnl March 20, 1928. 1,663,199

w. F. HlRscHMAN ROTARY VENTILATOR 4 Filed Jan. 3, 1925 v5 Sheets-Sheet 4March 20, 1928.

v w. F. HlRscHMA'N ROTARY vENTILATo Filed Jan. 1925 5 ShqefbS-Sheet 5:vilH NHL IIIIHIIIHIIIII I I1 Patented Mar. Z0, 1928.

UNITED STATESr WILLIAM n. HIRsCHMAN, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

ROTARY VENTILATOR.

Application filed January 3, 1925. Serial No. 348.

This invention relates to a rotary roof ventilator which is adapted toutilize the pressure of the wind or air currents to draw out or suckobjectionable gases and foul air from the building on which itisinstalled `and discharge the same into the outer atmosphere, thisventilator being an improvement on the one for which Letters Patent weregranted to me May 16, 1922, bearing the Number 1,416,295.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a ventilator whichwill operate at very low wind pressures and obtain the maximumpneumatic-dynamic eiiiciency.

Another object is to provide a louver or damper in the stack by whichthe How of air through the ventilator can be controlled or regulated tosuit the varying conditions.

Further objects are to simplify the construction and arrangement'of thegearing and bearings7 toy reduce the wear upon these parts, and toprevent dirt, iron scale, etc.7 from interfering with the freeoperations of the same. Y

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved ventiiatorshowing part ofthe stack, dome and suction fan in section, and the louvers in theirclosed position.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the suction fan showing the supportingpost in section.

Figure 3 is a` fragmentary side elevation ofthe fan and supporting post.

Figure 4 is a framentary sectional view of the fan driving mechanism andassociated parts.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section, the same being taken on line 5 5, Fig.4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal fragmentary sectional view of the stack showingthe louvers in their closed position.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the saine showing thelouvers in an open position.

Figure S is a perspective view of one of the outer louvers or shutters.

Similar reference numerals indicate similar parts in each of the severalviews.

The ventilator'is'adapted to'be placed on an exposed part of 'the roof 9of the house or building being Vventilated and is mounted on an upwardlyextending vent pipe 10' ofA the Ventilating system, (not shown'),throughwhich the foul air or objectionable gas is drawn out of the building andexhausted into the outside air. l

In its general organization the ventilator comprises a stack on whichVis rotatably mounted a vaned ldome or turret, a fan arranged within theturretand geared thereto so as to be rotated by the same, and a systemof louvers or shutters arranged in the stack so that the suction of thefan can be regulated.

Thesta'ckl 11 is made inthe form of a cy? lindrical sheet metal body andis adapted to lit over the vent pipe 10 and be secured thereto in anyapproved manner. The stack is braced at its lower end by a transversechanneled bar 12 which is secured` to the diametrically opposite sidesof the `stack by bolts or rivets 13 passing therethrough. This bar valsoserves to support the post 14 upon which the turret and'ventilatin'gfanare supported. In the upperpart of the stack are arranged crossbraces 15, 16 secured at their' outer ends to the stack and the innerends of whichare n provided with flanges 17 which flanges of both bracesare adapted to be secured together by bolts `18 and to clamp the post 14therebetween. y,

/Vithin the post is arranged the vertical driving shaft 19 on the upperend of which the turret 20is secured. The diameter of this turret isgreater than the diameter of the stack 11 and vent pipe and is providedon itsperipheral edge with a depending vertical flange or apron 21 thelower edge of which is lower than the upper edge of the stack 11.thereby preventing the entrance of rain and snow into the body of theventilator. The 'means for securing the turret to the vertical drivingshaft comprise an upper spider 22 and a lower spider 23 secured to -eachof these members and adapted to re tain them in coaxial relation. Eachof these spiders is composed of two sections the central parts 24 ofwhichare formed to receive the driving shaft and are bolted together by.y

bolts 25. The ends of each section are bent at au angle to the centralpart and form arms 26 which are adapted to be secured at their ends tothe underside of A`the turret by bolts 27 or otherwise.

The rotation of the turret is accomplished by securing a number'ofspaced propeller' buckets or blades 28 to the upperA rinclined yfaceof the conicalv rotary turret. For substantially one half of therotation of the turret these propeller blades are traveling with thewind, of course, and the remaining half rotation against the wind. Theconstruction of the blades when traveling with the wind obviouslypresents no diiliculty, but to travel Vagainst the wind the blades mustbe designed so as to offer the minimum resistance to the air current. For this purpose each of the propeller blades has its forward or leadingedge 29 disposed flush with the upper surface of the turret and issecur-ed thereto by suitable forwardly extending flanges 30 while themain body of each blade extends rearwardly and upwardly from saidleading edge and terminates in a trailing edge 31. The central or bodyportion of each blade is pointed forming a forwardly and downwardlytapering bucket, the apex 32-of the same being arranged adjacent theupper surface of the turret. Since all of the blades or buckets arearranged in the same relation to the turret, the blades on one side ofthe turret present their concave sides to the wind while the blades onthe other side present their convex sides. The turret, obviously, isrotated in the direction opposite to that direction in which the buck-let shaped blades open, i. e., in the direction of the arrow, as' shownin Figure 1, by reason of the greater resistance offered by the bladeswhen arranged in that position than when arranged in the position the.

blades assume on the side of the turret going against the wind, i-. e.,when the buckets open in the direction of the wind current. Thisarrangement ofthe blades effectively rotates the turret even when theair current is of slight velocity, the action of the same being inaccordance vwith accepted pneumatic-dynamic practice, the air currentcurling over'the trailing edge 3l when the buckets travel against thewind and effectively killing the vacuum tending to form thereunder. y

The Ventilating fan is arranged within the turret coaxially therewithimmediately above the upper edge ofthe stack or throat 11. The means forsupporting the blades of the fan comprise two annular plates or rings offrustal form, the upper ring 33 being` arranged adjacent theinnersurface of the turret and conforming therewith, and the lower ring34 being arranged immediately above the stack 11. The lower ring 34 isnarrower and of smaller diameter than the upper ring 33.Y Between thesesupporting rings the blades of the fan are arranged.

` As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, two sets -of blades are provided.

The out-er set, indicated generally at 35, comprises a plurality ofvanes 36 disposed at an angle to the vertical and provided withtransverse iianges 37 at their upper and lower edges Vby which they areriveted to the adjacent Lei/sales surfaces of the upper and lowersupporting rings 33 and 34 respectively. Each of these blades aredisposed at an angle to the radius of the fan, the advancing edge 38 ofeach blade being arranged adjacent the inner edges of the rings, and thetrailing edges 39 being arranged adjacent the peripheries thereof. Bythis arrangement the foul airV erably only twoin number as a largenumber of blades in the center of the fan would impede the fiow of airand reduce the eiiiciency of the fan. The outer part 42 of the bladesare similar in construction to the vanes 36, the blades being extendedinwardly to form these inner blades. The lower part of each of theseinner blades is curved forwardly forming a lower advancing edge 43. Itis obvious that these blades act as scoops, throwing the foul airupwardly and outwardly where it is finally expelled .by the other bladesof the. fan. By this means a greater exhausting effect is obtained.

The fan is supported from the supporting post by a spider 44 of the sameform as the spiders 22 and 23 which support the turret, the samedescription applying.

In order to increase the exhausting effect of the ventilator, the fan isrotated at a greater speed than the turret by a driving mechanism whichis preferably constructed as follows:

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the driving means consist generally of thedriving shaft 19 extending downwardly through the supporting post 14 andprovided at its lower end with a thrust'bearing 45, a hollow drivenshaft 46 surrounding said driving shaft and supporting the fan at itsupper end, a train of gears 47, 48, 49 and 50 connecting said drivingand driven shafts, and a gear housing 51 surrounding the gears andshafts and forming the upper part of the oil well in which Ythe drivingmechanism runs. c

The driving shaft 19 is provided at its lower end with a retainingcollar 52 which is provided on itsunder side with a recess 53 in whichthe thrust ball 54 is arranged. This collar may be secured to the shaftin any suitable and well known manner, but preferably by a transverserivet 55 passing through the shaft and the adjacent sides of the collar.The lower end of the shaft is for a purpose which will presently appear,and a hardened block 57 is arranged centrally within this recess andconforms therewith forming a hardened surface against which the thrustball 54 bears. An externally threaded plug 58 is provided which issecured to the channeled brace 12 by a bolt 59, a separating washerbeing interposed and arranged in the channel of the brace. This plug isprovided` centrally with a hardened steel block 60 which extends abovethe upper end of the plug and forms a lower bearing surface for thethrust ball. By extending the hardened block upward from the supportingplug, an annular channel or well 61 is formed varound the same whichreceives any iron scale or rust which may settle and accumulate at thethrust bearing, preventing this grit from interfering with and rapidlywearing the thrust ball.

Surrounding the thrust bearing at the lower end of the post 14 is anenclosing housing adapted to prevent leakage of the oil bath in whichthe driving mechanism is run. This h'ousing comprises a coupling sleeveor union 62 secured at its lower end to the externally threadedsupporting plug 58, and a collar 63 having an internally threadedportion which receives the supporting post and an externally threadedreduced portion engaged by the upper endof the union.

The driving shaft is supported laterally by an' upper self-aligning ballbearing 64 interposed between this shaft and the adjacent part 65 of thegear hou-sing, and a lower ball bearing 66 interposed the shaft and thecollar 63. Each of these ball bearings may be of any suitable and wellknown construction, the upper self-aligningbearing 64 being shown ashaving an inner aligning ball race 67 'ball bearings 68, and an outerrace 69 having a concave inner face which is adapted to permit a limitedaligning movement of the inner race and the balls, and the lower bearingpreferably having an outwardly flanged inner race 70 and an inwardlyflanged outer race 71 forming an annular groove therebetweenwhich isadapted to receive the ball bearings. Ad-

f justment of this lower bearing isreffected by adjusting screws 72provided in the collar (i3-which screws are pointed at their inner endsand are adapted to force the outer race 71 upwardly against the ballswhen said screws are moved inwardly.

inasmuch as a slight play in these bearings is necessary to theirefficient operation, the driving shaft does not run perfectly true atitslower end but moves slightly in a circular path. It is therefore obviousthat by lusing a single large thrust ball, a slow rotation of the same'1s effected which results '1n ing.

a slower and more even wear of the same vthan if it were rotated on oneaxis. Moreover a longer life is given Yto the hardened blocks 'betweenwhich it is interposed since Vthe ball ydescribes a slight circular pathonl these blocks and hence does not wear constantly on a single point ofthe surfaces thereof. By providing the upwardly dished recess 56 on thelower side of the upper bearing block and shaft, the thrust ball isretained in a position substantially coaxial with the driving shaftthereby rendering the thrust bearing self-aligning. The outer retainingcollar 52 is, however, necessary when the ventilator is being shipped orinstalled, or possibly when a very severe gust of wind lifts the turretand shaft so as to free the thrust ball from Vthe recess. Moreover thiscollar also serves to prevent such an undue upward movement of the shaftby the engagement of its upper face with the under1v side of the outerrace of the lower ball bear- The gearing I by which the hollow fan shaftand fan mounted thereon is driven at a greater speed than the drivingshaft and turret comprises a large gear wheel 47 mounted on said drivingshaft and meshing with a small pinion 48, and a pinion 49 madeintegrally with said pinion 48 yand meshing with a gear wheel 50 ofsubstantially the same size mounted on the driven shaft. The counterpinions are mounted on a vertical pintle 73 extending upwardly from thelower part of the gearing housing and are retained thereon by aretaining screw and washer 74. The gear wheel 5() is secured to thedriven shaft by screws 75 which engage a collar 76, said collar beingscrewed over the lower end of said driven shaft, and retained'lin placeby a transverse screw 77. f

The hollow driven shaft 46l is mounted and supportedon the driving shaft'19 by an upper self aligning bearing 78 which supports the driven shaftlaterally, and a lower thrust ball vbearing indicated Vat 79 whichsupports the driven shaft 46 vertically, and receives the downwardthrust of the same. The upper bearing 78 which laterally supports the'driven shaft is similar to the upper ball bearing '64 supporting thedriving shaft, the same having inner 'and outer races securedrespectively to the driving and driven shafts, and balls interposedtherebetween.` The lower or thrust bearing 79 is arranged `at the lowerend of the driven shaft 46. and

of received by the gear wheel 50, which is Y tween these shafts. Vtionof the oil in the driving mechanism is leemos pinned or otherwisesuitably secured to the driving shaft 19. By interposing the rollerbearings between these shafts and thereby supporting the driven shaft onthe drivingA shaft, the wear on the bearings is reduced since both ofthese shafts rotate in the saine direction and the wear on thesebearings results from the difference in the speed of these shafts.

The gearing housing comprises a circular base y81 mounted on the upperend of the supporting post 1li, which base supports .the driving shaftand counter pinions, and a circular wall 82 secured to the periphery oisaid base by screws 88 and rising therefrom. This housing is adapted tocontain oil and is provided with a dust cap 84 which is secured to thedriven shaft and extends over the .open upper end of the housing.

Oil is supplied tothe driving mechanism by a conduit 85 which extendsthrough the turret to the upper side thereof, the lower end of theconduit extending through a dust cap 86 which is secured tothe drivingshaft and arranged over the upper end of the driven shaft, said conduitsupplying oil be- Fr-ee Vintercominunicaestablished by providingtransverse ports S7 in the driven shaft, a longitudinal oil groove 88 inthe driving shaft leading around the upper ball bearing, and an oilpassage 89 in the base of the gearing housing leading to the interior ofthe supporting post.

In order to control the flow of air through the stack and therebyregulate the ventilation of the building, a valve or closure consistingof a plurality of louvers or shutters is provided in the stack which areladapted 'i to be swung into a horizontal position in which they overlapand engage each other and cut off the flow of air, or into a verticalposition in which they permit a free suction through the system, or intoany intermediate regulating position.A

e Each of the louvers 90 are of substantially the same width and jointlyform a circular closure, the end sections 91 and 92y having j curvedsides 93 conforming to the circular stack and the intermediate sectionshaving similarly curved ends. Each shutter is provided with alongitudinal ystiiiening angle iron 94 on Yits under side, and theinterme. diate sections are provided with transverse reinforcing strips95 on their upper sides.

The shutters are supported on an annular" supporting ring or band 96 theshutters being pivotally Vmounted thereon so as to swing on theirlongitudinal aXes. The pivotal bearings may be ot any suitableconstructionbut preferably consist ot pins 97 projecting from the endsof each shutter, each pin being supported in a block 98 arranged on thetop of said shutter. In order 'to permit the louver to be swung into averoccur if the shutters were not squared. Filling blocks 100 areprovided on the supporting ring 96 which extend inwardly therefromadjacent the ends of the shutters and lill the space .between thesquared ends of the shutters `and the ring, and alsoV form bearingblocks :tor the pivot pinsof the shutters. It is to `be understoodhowever that the louver is not intended to act as an air tight closureand a considerable clearance is allowed betweenthe louvers and thesupporting ring and iilling blocks.

To forni a more perfect closure when the louver is fully closed andalsoto reinforce the edges of the shutters each is formed so as toprovide a groove 101 on its under side on one longitudinal edge', and atits opposite longitudinal edge with a groove or channel 102 on its upperside, they corresponding grooved edges of the shutters being adapted toregister with each other, the outer part 103 ot each groove engaging thegroove of the adjacent shutter when the louver is closed as best shownin Figure 1. The curved edges of the outer louvers 91 and 92 are not, ofcourse, provided with such grooves. It will be observed that theindividual shutters are not balanced or hung centrally on the pivots,but that in each case the pivots Vare arranged at a point considerablyinward vhence the size of the filling blocks 100 can be correspondinglyreduced(v It will also be observed that the balance of the louver systemas a whole is not affected since those shutters on the sideA on whichthe greater part of the saine is swung upwardly is counterbalanced bythe shutters on the other "side in which the greater part of eachshutter is swung downvaidly as best shown in Figure 7. i Q f Each of theshutters provided V'with' a transverse arin 104 which is riveted to theupper side of thevshu-tter. Each otthese arms extend inthe vsainedirection and arev provided at their outer ends with ears 105 Ywhich areadapted to pivotally engage a the length of the arms 104 is thereforedeian tei-mined by the distance between each shutter and the bar whenthe shutters are in an shutters having outwardly extending portions inthe form of arms 107 for this purpose as shown in Figure 7. It isobvious that by this construction the `shutters move in unison and theoperation of any shutter will operate the others. Y

To operate the louver system one of the shut-ters is provided with alever arm 108 which extends perpendicularly from the upper side of saidlouver and is secured thereto by its base 109. At its outer end thislever arm is pivotally connected to a link 110 which link is connectedat its upper end to the inner end of the operating lever 111. Thisoperating lever may be mounted in any suitable manner but preferablyextends through a vertical slot 112 in the stack and is pivotallymounted on a bracket 113 which is arranged outside of the stack. Anysuitable manual or automatic means indicated conventionally by a chain120 may be used to operate the lever, the same being connected to theouter short arm 114 of this lever.

It is apparent that by'lowering the outerV end of this lever, the link110 is raised, raising the lever arm 108 and rotating the louver to aclosed position as shown in Figure 1. ln a similar manner the shuttersare opened by raising' the operating lever.

By providing' a louver system of this character, the ventilator. andlouver can beV installed as a unit and the necessity for an individualdamper in each duct of the ventilating system is eliminated.

A governor is provided to prevent too rapid rotation of the turret whichcomprises a swinging arm 115 having a lower weighted end 116 which armis pivoted by a transverse pin 117 to one of the arms of the spidersupporting the ventilating fan. An inclined head 118 is provided on theupper end of this swinging arm, the inner side of whichv is faced withasbestos 119, said head being adapted to swing inwardly and engage theperiphery of the dust cap 86 covering the hollow driven shaft when thespeed of the fan throws the lower weighted end of the same outward.Since the driving shaft 19 to which the dust cap 86 is secured travelsat a different speed from the fan, an effective braking action issecured by this governor.

This ventilator is relatively compactand simple in construction and theinternal parts offer little resistance to the free flow of air throughthe same. It is also eiiicient in operation and is not liable to wearrapidly or get out of order notwithstanding the severe and constantusage to which this type of ventilatorl is subjected.

1. In a ventilator, a circular stack through which the foul air isexhausted; a plurality of parallel louvers each ofwhich is pivotallymounted at its ends in said stack and said louvers being adapte-d tol bemoved into a position in which they are arranged transversely of saidstack and form a closure therein or into a position parallel with thestack in which 'a flow of air through the stack is permitted; atransverse bar pivotally connected to the corresponding sides of each ofsaid louvers so asl to cause all the louvers to move in unison to anopen, closed or intermediate position; and means for moving Vone of saidlouvers to an open, closed, or intermediate position comprising a leverarm secured to one of said louvers and extending transversely outwardrelative theretog a transverse operating lever pivotally mounted on saidstack; a link pivotally connecting one arm of said operating lever andsaid lever arm; and operating means associated with the-other arm ofsaid lever.

2. In a ventilator, a circular stack through which the foul air isexhausted; a plurality of parallel louvers each of which is pivotallymounted at its ends in said stackand said louvers being` adapted to bemoved into a position in which they are arranged transversely of saidstack and form a closure therein or into aposition parallel with thestackin which a iow of air through the stack is permitted; a transversebar pivotally connected to the corresponding sides of each of saidlouvers so as to cause. all the louvers to move in` unison to an open,closed or intermediate position and means for moving one of said louversto an open, closed or intermediate position comprising a lever armsecured to one of said llouvers and extending transversely outwardrelative thereto; a transverse operating lever pivotally mounted onsaidstack; a link pivotally connecting one arm of said operating lever`and said lever arm; and operating means associated with the other arm ofsaid lever and said last mentioned arm being arranged without saidstack.

3. ln a ventilator, a circular vent stack, a plurality of parallellouvers arranged transversely in said stack and conforming at their endsto the shape of said stack, means for pivotally supporting each end ofeach of said louvers on said stack to swing about a longitudinal axis,the axes of at least two of said louvers being disposed between the'longitudinal center line of said louver and the longitudinal inner edgethereof, said louvers being adapted to engage each other andl form aclosure and to be disengaged and permit air to pass through the stack,and means for swinging said louvers into open, closed or intermediatepositions. f y

4. In a ventilator, a circular vent stack, a plurality of parallellouvers arranged transversely infsaid stack, means for pivotallysupporting each end of each of said louvers on said stack to swing abouta longitudinal taneously actuating said louvers, the axes of axis7 theaxis of each of said louvers being said louvers being disposed in suebmanner oset relative to the longitudinal center line that the greaterportions or' substantially 10 of the louver to form a portion of greaterhalf of said louvers swing downwardly, the

5 extent on one side of said louver, and said greater portions of theother louvers swinglouvers being adapted to engage each other ingupwardlv.

and form a closure, and means for simul- VILLIAM F. HIRSCHMAN.

